Australian painter and master printmaker Leon Pericles AM has held more than 160 solo exhibitions and achieved national and international recognition over a career spanning more than 55 years. His work is represented in major public collections, including the National and State Galleries of Australia, and in 2018, he drew large audiences to a major retrospective featuring more than 500 works. Even as a selection from his extensive archive, the exhibition demonstrated the breadth of his imagination and technical command, firmly establishing him as one of Australia’s most prolific artists. While best known for painting, printmaking and collage, he has worked fluidly across sculpture and design, moving between figurative and abstract forms.
Raised in Meekatharra, Pericles draws enduring inspiration from the Australian outback and his imagined town of Widjimorphup. His work, by turns narrative, whimsical and absurd, offers reflections on society and landscape that sharpen our understanding of Western Australian identity.
His studios in East Perth and Margaret River have long served as creative hubs, welcoming artists and students to engage with process and practice. A committed mentor and patron of the Printmakers Association of Western Australia, he has supported generations of emerging and established artists.
Early in his career, Pericles lectured in art and played a key role in introducing fine arts to Nedlands Teachers College (now Edith Cowan University), contributing to the first wave of specialist art educators in schools and TAFE.
In 2000, he founded the Dido Fellowship, supporting graduates with resources and studio access. The 2019 Storm in a Teacup documented his life with his wife, Moira, following her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Since then, he has raised over $120,000 for the Australian Alzheimer’s Research Foundation and Dementia Australia.